THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN, by J. R. R. Tolkien?

Question

Anyone read THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN, by J. R. R. Tolkien?

Answer 1

Also called "The Tale of Grief", "Narn i Chîn Húrin", commonly called "The Narn", tells of the tragic fates of the children of Húrin, his son Turin (Turambar) and his daughter Nienor.

[SPOILER] The story starts (in the published Silmarillion) with the childhood of Túrin, continuing through the captivity of his father in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and Túrin's exile in Doriath, to Túrin's time in Nargothrond, his unintentionally incestuous relationship with his sister Nienor, and ultimately ending with suicide by his sword Gurthang after having slain Glaurung.

As a point of reference regarding the names of the main characters: In this story, Túrin renames himself Turambar, meaning Master of Doom in the High-Elven speech, with a vow to turn aside from the darkness that had ruled his early life. His sister Nienor is also called Níniel, meaning Maid of Tears. She is renamed by Turambar himself after he finds her alone and in distress in the woods. Only much later does he learn her real name and origins. The section ends with the Elves calling them by the names of Túrin Turambar Dagnir Glaurunga (as the slayer of the Dragon Glaurung) and Nienor Níniel.

The story of the Narn continues in the Later Narn (which you can read in the Unfinished Tales). The last part of the story (published as "the Wanderings of Húrin"), a text which was found to be too different in style from the rest of the Silmarillion, but which continues the Narn past Túrin's death and ends with Húrin's eventual release and the bad deeds which come from that (read in The War of the Jewels, part 11 of the History of Middle-earth series). This last part was not inside the The Children of Hurin.

The Children of Hurin is a book where all published pieces are now stuck and glued together, and some missing parts have been added. There are numerous changes in the style and language, leaning much more towards modern english and the Lord of the Rings writing style and moving away from the archaic Silmarillion. While the puzzle is now complete and the tale can be read in a single book I wonder if it can be called a great success; not looking at the sales. The idea was to create a bridge between the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion, yet i don't think the object was obtained. The book still remains a difficult read for Tolkien newbies. You can see a young Tolkien struggle with the concept Middle-earth and finding his writing style... I love much more the version of the Narn of Unfinished Tales, while not complete the language used is better fitting the tale. Pity there does not exist an edition of UT with the new art by Alan Lee.

Answer 2

The story is covered in the Silmarillion, basically. He never intended anything else to be published, you know. I'd turn over in my grave if someone was publishing books containing my unfinished stories and notes.